GENTRIFIED EVICTION

When people are forced to move out of their homes to make way for "a better class" of people we all need to worry. This is especially true if race is a motivator.

My family has lived in this neighborhood since 1963. 
My mother and I were bounced on the same neighbors’ knee. 
The only local store we had was the corner one down the street. 
We always had to travel uptown if we wanted more to eat. 
This community exploded with sex, drugs, and gang crime. 
The police would just ignore us and we heard gunfire all the time. 
We watched the city close our schools and rarely fix our streets. 
We watched families get evicted and saw kids who didn't eat. 
For over 50 years we endured this drama and fought back the pain. 
We lived through senseless times and saw our children being slain. 
The city ignored us because we lived on the ghetto side of town.   
The local news only spoke about us when a crime or murder went down. 

Two years ago it changed.  They started moving in more whites. 
We noticed it immediately when we saw police cars every night. 
They remodeled the park and refurbished the closed schools. 
They built a shopping mall and opened a grocery store name Jewell's. 
We started seeing street sweepers and buyers looking for a house. 
They gentrified our neighborhood by moving the black folks out. 
They say it isn't racism but an urban renewal of some kind. 
Why did it take white neighbors to "renew" the cities mind? 

We have lived in this neighborhood since 1963. 
We have endured hard times and lost family on these streets. 
They want me to move.  I have had several offers on my house. 
They say it’s for my good but I know they just want me out. 
They moved out the criminals and want me to go with them. 
The new "Suburban" ghetto is made for us that don't fit in. 
I won't sell my house so they are pushing for my demise. 
They upped the cost of my utilities and my taxes are on the rise. 
I don't know how long I can make it but I will continue to fight. 
To me gentrification just means:  Get out if you're not white! 
Fight for your neighborhoods that finally look and feel clean. 
Don't lose your family homes that you gave blood to redeem. 
The eviction of gentrification is just another way to hold us back.
It rings of that old segregation and the struggles of our past. 
No, I oppose the idea of being moved and pushed out of sight. 
I've lived here since 1963 and I won't give up without a fight. 

© 2013 Eddie Phillips

Author's Note

I wrote this last year after I went home and saw all the "Urban Renewal". A lot of it is great but the motivation and means of acquiring the property is bad. It makes you really shake your head. I tried to be as truthful about the bad side of gentrification. Many see it as only a good thing but the truth is a lot more dark. I hope you get my point.